The Samurai Ways
by Kyuubi no Kitsune0101
Summary: Hello readers! Naruto's a samurai with the eight tailed wolf sealed in him. He's lived with abusive guardians throughout his life, and his only guardian that treated him like a brother, hates his guts. Our favorite blond gets a different guardian.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Prologue

In His Beginning

The samurai of the many different villages were up against the wolf demon spirit. Many samurai were killed. The fourth leader of the Konohagakure, the Hokage, sealed the demon within a new born baby with the umbilical just cut's navel. The child was a hero, a human coffin for the wolf demon. The child's name was Uzumaki Naruto. In the adults' eyes, he is the wolf demon. No words or actions could change the hearts of men and women who lost many family members to the demon. The shadow looms over Naruto for life for the shadow of hatred is a life sentence only the strong can bear.

The rule was no one could tell Naruto that the wolf demon was inside him. In the battle, Naruto's parents were killed directly by the demon's claws. The Third Hokage gave Naruto to Ume Kuri, who taught at the local samurai school. She was going to be Umino Iruka's guardian too for his parents were killed by the demon as well.

"Kuri, keep Naruto from harms way until he is ready to be taught how to be a samurai warrior," The Hokage ordered. Kuri nodded. She held the small baby and walked beside Iruka, following the other samurai back to the village. The souls of their comrades weigh heavy on their swords and hearts with each step they take to another tomorrow. Kuri never thought the sunrise could look more beautiful than the day before's. Iruka only saw broken men and women coming home to families that'll never be the same. He felt the hatred in his heart grow against the baby that Kuri held in her very arms.

A/n: This isn't a chapter! It's what happens before the story really begins! The real first chapter will be here soon!- Kyuubi no Kitsune0101


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! If I did I wouldn't be writing this fanfic, but I don't own Naruto!

Chapter One

Graduation

_Cover: Naruto is sleeping under a cherry blossom tree with his wooden sword tied to his waist_

Uzumaki Naruto sat outside the village known as Konohagakure, one of the five major samurai villages. He was lucky enough to live there and in a good home with a nice guardian this year unlike the years before where he slept on the streets, and his guardians used him to get more money out the the Hokage. He was almost thirteen as the summer wind began to blow through his hair. Kuri was the worst one of them all. She use to hit him up until he was three for Umino Iruka, another orphan in her care, grew guts and turned her in, and they were given a new guardian. They lived together until Iruka became a Medium Samurai and moved out, and he carried his hatred for that long until he asked to be Naruto's guardian last year. The two became almost like brothers, but it was an almost.

"I hate homework!" Naruto shouted. He tossed his wooden sword next to a tree. Academy students were only allowed to carry a wooden sword till the graduation sword with the leaf symbol on the blade was given to them at graduation, but they had to pass first. "Why must I practice fighting again?" Naruto usually asked no one for he was alone. He sat next to his sword against the tree. "I can't wait till I graduate!" The shouting was only there to make the silence less scary and lonely. He leaned back against the tree and fell asleep, hoping Iruka wouldn't find him slacking off.

**Dream one:**

**Naruto stood knee deep in water, or what he hoped was water. He looked at the long tunnel with doors here and there, but where was he? Unlike his other dreams where he was always someplace nice, this place gave him a bad feeling as he walked through the murky water all around him. The sight of it made his stomach clench with a want to throw up what little he ate nowadays. At the end of the tunnel was a door with a rusty knob. He opened it and wanted to die at that moment. A giant wolf with about eight tails flowing behind him stood in a cell. Blood and spit dripped into the murky water, and his piercing blue eyes stared at Naruto with almost hatred.**

**"Uzumaki," the beast said. Naruto flinched and took a step back, but he tripped over something in the water. Searching, he picked up a sword, a real sword with a worn grip. He held it with two hands in front of him, hoping to whatever God there was that it was going to protect him against something that could probably break through the cell bars**

**"Who are you?" Naruto asked. The beast smiled and took the form of a human. The sword dropped from his hands, and he fell to his knees. Puke mixed within the water, and his one hand went up to stop it. 'How' was the right word, but he couldn't think straight anymore. The demon's blue eyes were still enough to pierce his heart as he flicked his blond hair from his face. "How! What the hell are you!" His eyes went blur as the demon spoke.**

**"I'm the Eight Tailed Wolf, your prisoner!" The dream went black, but he could still hear the demon hitting his cage**

**End dream**

Naruto twitched, laying on the ground, and his eyes snapped open to see Iruka standing in front of him with a disappointed face. The Academy teacher wore his robes that were design for a samurai that chose to teach kids about honor. The two swords at his waist made Naruto jealous. He often asked his guardian to look at the swords, but Iruka said that the swords were a material form of his honor and having another man mess with them was like tramping all over his honor with muddy sandels. The scar across his face was from a fight with a kid that owned a sword, and it made Naruto think how some samurai were a disgrace for striking a defensiless boy. When he asked Iruka about it, the Medium Samurai didn't say anything about the fight's outcome.

"You're being lazy again!" Iruka shouted. As Naruto's guardian and teacher, he taught the blond a little more than the other students. Each lesson turned into a rebellion for Iruka was too hard on Naruto. He believed the twelve-year-old had a fighting chance against a Hokage Guard, but the only problem was getting Naruto to believe that. The sadness in Iruka's eyes that Naruto's clear ones always overlooked was for the fact that Naruto took antidepressants and was usually coming home from school with bandages needed for the punishment the villagers thought he needed. Some of the samurai even hurt him, believing his honor would be trash. It was their honor that died when they attacked him.

"Who cares? Iruka, you never say any words of praise for my work or encouragement," Naruto said. He looked up at Iruka as if he were staring at a stranger. They were strangers to each other. Iruka and Naruto were too different to know who they were. Naruto had no idea his honor was higher than most samurai because he never fought back; Iruka valued his honor and fought back to defend it, losing it, piece by piece. The twenty-one-year-old looked down at the boy, and there in the kid's eyes was something he never saw. A power that wanted to be released, but Naruto held himself back, so that people wouldn't get angry with him though they still hurt him. The pain and suffering could make him go cold.

"Get back to work, and maybe you'll remember the techniques. Tomorrow is the graduation test, and it'll be the third time you don't pass!" Iruka shouted. He tossed the wooden sword to the boy, who caught it at the hilt. The weight was perfect to Naruto, but it was off for Iruka. The student and teacher turned their backs to each other, and the student began working on his moves. He had no special clan moves that were known by anyone. The children all had ones that were passed from parent to child until time ends. Naruto stood outside that pattern for it skipped him over and might not come back.

"I know all the techniques, but it's just I work so hard I screw up," Naruto whispered. Iruka couldn't hear him; Naruto could barely hear himself. With the sword in his hand, he looked at the wooden blade, only able to snap branches off; Naruto made it with his bare hands, a knife and polish. The students had to make their first swords, the wooden ones. Most kids had elm, oak, maple, apple tree wood, but Naruto chose sakura tree. The scent of cherry blossoms caught him in memories. He never wanted to leave the happiness he once knew, but of course, he had no happiness. It was stripped away from him like a bandage over a healed wound.

"Naruto, I'll watch you practice, and then maybe we'll go get some ramen," Iruka said, pulling Naruto from his memories. The blond had dropped his sword, so he picked up his wooden sword and began cutting at tree branches. As each branch fell, another one grew back. It was a charm that only Hokage Guards and teachers were able to preform, and Naruto wanted to, someday, learn it. A branch fell before him, and his thoughts fell back to his dream. That demon couldn't possibly be him. It wasn't him because he was barely strong enough to pass the graduation ceremony. Caught up in his thoughts, he missed a branch and struck another samurai who was by instead. Naruto jumped back and looked at whom he hit. Just his luck that the samurai he struck was a High Samurai and the Hokage's son, Sarutobi Asuma.

"Gomen, Sarutobi-sama," Naruto said, bowing as low as he could without getting on his knees. Asuma smiled and patted Naruto's shoulder. What was happening? Did Naruto die and go to a better place with nicer people? No samurai, not even Iruka, ever dared to pat his back, ruffle his hair, or say something nice to him. He lived without the normal praises parents gave their children, for it made him work harder than them.

"Naruto, it's okay, and I should've been looking out for you since you need your practice, so get back to practicing. I'll leave you be then," Asuma said. Naruto nodded and went back to swinging his sword and chopping branches. "Umino, I'm here to talk with you. Naruto isn't allowed to compete in the graduation test tomorrow, Hokage's orders. He'll be with the Hokage, and that's all you need to know. Do you happen to know where Naruto's guardian is?" The schoolteacher sighed and looked over at the distracted Naruto. The boy had to perform his screwed up techniques to a Kage at the risk of his honor.

"I'm his guardian," Iruka said. Asuma smiled and sighed. He pulled out a scroll from his robes. The Hokage's symbol, a flame, was on the seal, and it disappeared when Iruka broke it. His eyes scanned the page, and Asuma waited until he figured the Medium Samurai halfway through. He cleared his throat and caught Naruto's attention too.

"Naruto is going to be taking a special graduation test. The his father's clan sword and a Konoha samurai sword is what he'll be testing for. If Naruto passes he'll have to learn how to use three swords," Asuma said. Iruka looked confused as he read the rest of it, but Naruto was overjoyed. His clan did have a sword. He wondered what it looked like, and how it would feel in his hands. The blade was probably going to need a good old cleaning to make it sparkle like Iruka's swords did every cleaning day. He couldn't wait to see it.

"Three swords?" Iruka asked. Asuma looked over at Naruto as if he wasn't sure if the kid should know what the third sword was. "Naruto, go beg Anko to teach you a new technique." Without a second thought, Naruto began running away from the area, searching for Anko, his best friend and a High Samurai. She went through a lot of pain like he did, so they instantly became friends. That was the only thing during the past year that Iruka had to be proud of even though he worried that Anko's insanity was going to rub off on Naruto.

"The demon sword is also going to be given to Naruto when he graduates. Once the sword is given to him, you're no longer his guardian. He's new guardian will be someone who knows how to wield the sword and is able to fight with three swords. The Uzumaki sword is the only thing nobody knows about, but they say that you gain the techniques from the memories that the sword possesses," Asuma said with a light shrug. Iruka sighed and thought about Naruto having to pack up and move again after only a year. Kids only lived with their parents until they became a Medium Samurai because they would know how to take care of themselves at that time, but some kids stayed to lend hands around the house. "I hear they're getting Hatake Kakashi, Hyuga Hizashi, or even Maito Gai, but Gai has his hands full with his prodigy, Rock Lee, and Hyuga Hizashi has Hyuga Neji, his son while I believe Kakashi is offering to teach Uchiha Sasuke. He's the only three-sword user in Konoha, and his clan's sword is a half-demon sword. The Hokage is only hoping that Kakashi decides to teach Naruto, or the boy will have to self-teach himself for no High Samurai will take him as their pupil." Asuma began walking away from a shocked Iruka, and he jumped into the trees and disappeared. Iruka knew he couldn't be Naruto's mentor during the Low Samurai rank or for the three swords because he was a teacher to the Academy.

Naruto walked out of the Hokage's Tower about noon. The Academy was still busy with their testing for they didn't start until eleven, and lunch still was their break. He placed his hand on his clan sword. To graduate, he had to strike down a Low Samurai within five minutes. With two uppercuts and a diagonally slash, the samurai was kissing the floor. It was almost too easy compared to Iruka's test. He almost laughed at knowing that some of the kids weren't going to pass, and they'd repeat Iruka's class until they did.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" a smooth voice said. Naruto looked over his shoulder at a High Samurai with a metal mask covering the bottom part of his face. The blond knew his name was Hatake Kakashi, the copy-cat samurai. The silver haired man pocessed an Uchiha clan sword along with the graduation sword and Hatake clan sword. He could use all three at once, which was a skill rarely known by anyone. Every major village had hundreds of samurai, but only one or two knew how to work with three swords at once. Kakashi was Konoha's only one.

"Goodday, Hataka-sama," Naruto said, facing the man and bowing. He straightened up and looked at Kakashi. His eyes gave away that he was smiling. What was there to be happy about? "On your way to the Academy?" Kakashi shook his head and looked up at the sky and up and down the streets. Villagers were busy with their days to notice the two samurai.

"Naruto, I want you to be my pupil. I feel I need to pass down my legacy to someone they least expected. My tri-sword style is hardly a laughing matter, but my demon sword skills is what you'll mostly be learning. Seeing as it's noon, how about we go get some lunch and discuss your living arrangments. For now on call me either Kakashi-sensei or just Sensei," Kakashi said. Naruto almost dropped dead out of shock. He slapped his forehead and smiled. Kakashi began walking away, and the blond caught up to him. They were heading in the direction of the ramen stand that Naruto usually ate at with Iruka and Anko.

"Sensei, it's an honor to be your student. I'll try to learn all that you have to offer," Naruto said. He recieved a smile and a ruffle of his hair. Pride was the only word to descibe what Naruto felt at the bottom of his stomach. He wanted Kakashi to know that he wouldn't fail him no matter what happens in the future.

They were to start moving Naruto's things to Kakashi's house the next morning. Naruto would meet Kakashi's family that night along with eating dinner with them. He had to know who he was living with, but he felt as if he was going to be a stranger walking in and announcing that he was moving in. Kakashi assured him that it wouldn't be so bad, but in his eyes, Naruto could see that Kakashi was worried about something. The blond didn't care. He would be in a family. They had been sitting at the stand for about three hours, waiting for somone.

"Kakashi!" Iruka shouted as he ran over. Naruto could see that Iruka was proud of him, but the sadness there was forever present. "I see you passed, Naruto. You are no longer my student or under my care. Maybe when you become a great samurai, you'll think back on all who helped you. Anko says that she's wondering if you passed or not. She's not in the village at the moment though." Naruto took it as his cue to walk away, and he slide his swords in his sash and was off. "He'll be the worse thing to come your way when he knows how to use those swords."

"Iruka, just because you still hate him with all your being, doesn't mean he's the demon. He'll be the first student, but who knows how it'll turn out. Maybe he'll become Hokage, but we both know that's an impossible thing for someone like him. Say your final goodbyes tonight, but you have to tell him the truth. Show him the hatred you carry, but when he cries over the truth, it's because he's accepting that yet another person hates him for just being alive. I'll be by at six to take him under my care. I hope you have a nice day," Kakashi said. Iruka glared at his back while the High Samurai was walking away. It was the truth. Naruto had to know the truth. It would hurt the boy a lot, but it had to be done because Naruto couldn't have any connections to his old life. He was the Outcast as the samurai have named him.

"Naruto, why did you believe in the thoughts of friendship?" Iruka asked the air. He sighed and walked toward his apartment near the Academy. All his students were samurai now, but why didn't he feel proud. Half of the kids that passed weren't cut out to be samurai, but Naruto was the highest one. He shouldn't be allowed to carry a sword like he belonged to the village. They were only going to use him, and when he became no longer useful, he would be either exiled or executed. Iruka didn't care what they did. Naruto was no longer his problem and never will be his again. "I hate you." The three simple words, eight letters long, were the hardest thing to tell someone who is fragile like glass. Iruka opened the apartment door and looked around. The signs that Naruto lived there were gone, and he could hear Naruto packing in the guest room. The Academy teacher sighed and looked at a picture on the stand. It would be thrown out after Naruto was gone, so why look at it? "Naruto, can I talk to you?" The pain would be the worse part.

Author's note: I know what you're thinking. I made Iruka the bad guy with the evil hatred thing, but it'll be better. Naruto will meet Sakura and Sasuke in the next chapter along with their sensei. The other characters like Shikamaru and whatnot will be entering in throughout the story. Until the next evil chapter, byes! - Kyuubi no Kitsune0101


End file.
